Snapchat is finally cozying up to internet celebrities and giving them special perks

CyreneQCyrene Quiamco has more than 100,000 Snapchat followers and says the company is starting to work with power users like her more closely.

Snapchat is starting to warm up to the group of
internet celebrities and so-called influencers that it has long
ignored.

The app is starting to verify more of these influencers
in recent weeks, giving them access to special features that
normal users don't have.

The shift in strategy comes as Snapchat's user growth
has slowed in the face of fierce competition from
Facebook-owned Instagram, which has worked closely with
celebrities and users with large followings for years.

With more than 100,000 followers, Quiamco is part of a small
group of Snapchat power users who have built sizeable audiences
and made thousands of dollars promoting brands on their accounts.

An early Snapchat user who first started partnering with brands
in 2014, Quiamco - who goes by "CyreneQ" in the app
- had tried for years to contact Snap employees and have
them fix her problems with the app, which frequently crashed due
to the sheer number of messages she received.

While her bugs persisted, she watched Snapchat proactively reach
out to household names using the app, like DJ Khaled and Kylie
Jenner. In November 2015, Snapchat started
verifying top celebrities in the app, giving them access to
special features and emoji versions of the coveted blue check
marks found on other social apps.

Quiamco watched as many of her "influencer" peers, realizing that
they may never be verified, stopped posting regularly to Snapchat
and took the audiences they had built elsewhere.

Then one day in March, seemingly out of the blue, Snap asked her
to come visit its Venice Beach offices. During her visit,
Quiamco was given a Snapchat-branded backpack filled
with company swag, and she met with folks from Snap's partnership
team. Not long after that, she was sent a pair of Spectacles and
verified in the app.

"I was like, 'Wow, they actually acknowledged me, they're the
ones reaching out to me,'" Quiamco told Business Insider of her
first meeting with Snap, adding that she's had more discussions
with the company since.

Expanding Snapchat's 'Official Stories'

GettyDJ Khaled is one of Snapchat's top celebrities with millions of followers.

While internet celebrities like Quiamco have thrived and earned
sizeable incomes from posting videos to platforms like YouTube
and Instagram, Snapchat has historically kept them at arm's
length.

Snap executives have maintained that they want to cultivate a
social network for close friends. View counts aren't broadcasted
in Snapchat, and the app has never shown users how many followers
they have.

But in recent weeks, Snap's attitude towards influencers like
Quiamco has changed. The company has been reaching out to
internet celebs like famous YouTubers and former Vine stars,
verifying them and asking them for feedback about how to improve
the app.

A Snap spokesperson told Business Insider that the company has
been intentionally deliberate about expanding its verified
"Official Stories" program, and is planning to verify more of its
top users in the coming months.

Aside from a dedicated emoji next to your name, being verified on
Snapchat comes with a list of exclusive perks: a collab mode that
lets multiple phones post to the same account without having to
log in, account promotion in search and the app's crowdsourced
"Our Stories" feature for events, the ability to create
geofilters for free, and an emergency contact for problems with
the app. Verified users can also get important information, like
their follower count, from Snap.

Snap is also working on more features for verified accounts,
including better analytics and more prominent placement in
search, according to a person familiar with the matter. The
company has already verified a handful of non-people accounts,
like The White House and Major League Soccer.

The expansion of Official Stories comes as Snapchat's user growth
has slowed in the face of fierce competition from Facebook-owned
Instagram, which has worked closely with celebrities and users
with large followings for years. Facebook will soon release a
standalone app to make it easier for creators to see video
analytics and interact with their fans.

"I think it's exciting to see that Snapchat is recognizing the
celebrities being created on their own platform," said Nick
Cicero, CEO of analytics firm Delmondo. "It's a sign that they
understand that homegrown stars like Ross Smith, CyreneQ and
Shonduras can emerge on their own platform and then turn into
bonafide celebs."

While many Snapchat power users like Quiamco have spread their
efforts onto additional platforms like YouTube, Quiamco doesn't
think it's too late for Snap to finally kick-start its
relationships with influencers.

"Even though people left Snapchat, they're not completely off
it," she said. "They're posting sometimes and keeping the door
open."